Jebel Ali Drops from Top 30 After 20 Years
Jebel Ali fell from 10th to 32nd in global box port rankings after a 90% volume drop, losing 3.14m TEU in the first half of the year. The decline follows a near-shutdown of the Hormuz waterway and a 23% Q1 slump.
Impact of Hormuz Disruption
Alphaliner’s half-year assessment links the sharp fall in Jebel Ali traffic to renewed disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway was almost shut from March, reopening only partially and stably in June. The result was a 90% plunge in volumes at Dubai’s flagship port, with Q2 handling just 374,000 TEU.
Jebel Ali’s Decline
The port’s six-month throughput dropped to 3.14 million TEU, less than half the 7.77 million TEU recorded a year earlier. A 23% decline in Q1 compounded the fall. Consequently, Jebel Ali slipped out of the top 30, falling from 10th to 32nd in the global rankings.
| Port | 6-month TEU (2024) |
|---|---|
| Jebel Ali | 3.14m |
| Colombo | 4.4m |
| Nhava Sheva | 4.0m |
| Singapore | 22m |
| Ningbo-Zhoushan | 22m |
| Shanghai | 28.7m |
Khalifa, Abu Dhabi’s main gateway, also slipped out of the top 50, falling to 32nd after previously holding 32nd place.
Other Gulf Gateways
Alphaliner noted that Khalifa’s disappointing performance contrasts sharply with its position a year ago, when a 21.4% year-on-year volume surge had it poised to challenge Lianyungang for a top-30 spot. Lianyungang, meanwhile, reported flat to marginal growth, enough to maintain its position but far below the 3.7% average growth of the 11 Chinese ports in the top 30.
Chinese Port Resilience
China’s seaports recorded a six-month total of 161 million TEU, a 5.8% rise and a new record. Exports to the US grew 4%, while shipments to Africa, Latin America, Europe and South-East Asia climbed 30%, 14%, 10% and 9% respectively.
| Port | YoY Growth % |
|---|---|
| Lianyungang | +21.4% |
| Colombo | +11.9% |
| Nhava Sheva | +13.6% |
| China overall | +5.8% |
| Exports to US | +4% |
| Africa | +30% |
| Latin America | +14% |
| Europe | +10% |
| SE Asia | +9% |
South Asian Alternatives
Sri Lanka’s Colombo and India’s Nhava Sheva were the standout performers in South Asia, rising 11.9% and 13.6% year on year as carriers and shippers sought alternatives to Gulf routings. Colombo’s 4.4 million TEU and Nhava Sheva’s just over 4 million TEU remain far below the 22 million TEU handled by Singapore and Ningbo-Zhoushan, and the 28.7 million TEU at Shanghai.
Alphaliner attributes Colombo’s growth to stronger transhipment demand and new capacity at its Colombo West International Terminal, which cut congestion and attracted additional volumes. Nhava Sheva benefited from India’s strong export growth and expansion through the Bharat Mumbai Container Terminal and Nhava Sheva Freeport.
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